What do you give the woman who brought you into this world and raised you? For architect Benjamin Garcia Saxe, the answer was a beautiful bamboo retreat in Costa Rica. Some years ago, his mom stole away to the jungle in Costa Rica and constructed her own hideout from scrap wood and plastic bags. Then the loving (and talented) son decided to give his mom a significant upgrade with a two room bamboo house complete with an open courtyard!

In the first jungle home, Saxe’s mom placed her bed so that she could see the moon as she fell asleep, so in the new home, Saxe made sure his new design retained that aspect. The long house has a bedroom on one end and a kitchen and living space on the other, separated by an open courtyard with hammocks. The roofs for the rooms on the ends are inverted cones of bamboo rings that open up underneath the larger metal protective roof.

This open air construction and the large overhanging tin roofs allow for natural ventilation but still provide ample shade from the hot sun. The foundation is poured concrete and the structure is formed with steel, while the bamboo rings are covered in burlap to provide more shade and protection. In total, the small jungle home in Guanacoste, Costa Rica cost $40,000 to construct.